Dip your toes into new prose as four writers read on the theme of swimming. Katherine Brabon (The Body Friend), Lian Low (Adult Swimmer), Nova Weetman and Emily Gale (Elsewhere Girls) will read on recovery, learning to swim as an adult, and what the ocean can teach us about surrender. The... Read More

Born of the intersection of science and whimsy, Moon Sailors is an enchanting, free-roaming puppet performance that brings the ocean’s eco system to life. Inspired by the picture book Moon Sailors, let the roaming Constellation Whale transport you from the vibrant rock pools at our doorstep to the vast expanse of... Read More

Robert Skinner (I’d Rather Not) and David Goodwin (Servo) have a thousand yarns to spin from driving across the desert with a tour group in tow, to the menagerie of characters under the halogen lights of a Werribee servo at 3am. All their madcap adventures come from a time they... Read More

Nardi Simpson (Song of the Crocodile) is a Yuwaalaraay singer, songwriter and novelist. Her storytelling slides across forms and expressions. She joins Jen Cloher (I Am the River, the River Is Me) in conversation to talk about her writing practice, her sources of inspiration and how her creative life is... Read More

Three writers, Georgina Banks (Back to Bangka), Hugh Jones (Two Good Soldiers, One Great War) and Suzy Zail (Inkflower) have uncovered family legacies obscured by war. In following the threads of these stories, these writers have inadvertently become historians. They are joined in conversation by historian Jonathan Butler (The Boy... Read More

What makes poems tick—and how can we learn to crack them open to see what’s inside? Join poet and publisher Rose Lucas as they step through the skills for reading poems and the pleasures of listening to and finding meaning in the wonderful world of poetry. This event is proudly... Read More

A feast of stories in the community languages of Hobson’s Bay. Join storytellers Rohini Vij, Anna Manuel, Dee Palanisamy and Priti Modyiyer for stories in Hindi, Tagalog, Tamil and English. Our storytellers will invite us into the imaginative realm of their lives by weaving tales in both English and their... Read More

With an increasingly digitised and globalised media landscape, many communities have lost their local newspaper. Alice Pung (One Hundred Days), Margaret Simons (Tanya Plibersek), John Weldon (writer and associate professor, Victoria University) and Josie Vine (RMIT and The Westsider) discuss the role of community storytellers, what does this mean for hyper local news and... Read More

Votes for women was a huge leap for feminism, but have we plateaued? Melanie Joosten (Like Fire-Hearted Suns) and Iola Mathews (Winning for Women: A Personal Story) will reflect on how much has changed for women, and how much has stayed the same. In conversation with Alison Stuart they will... Read More

Part open-mic, part slam poetry—The People’s Choice is a chance to get involved with Willy Lit Fest. Writers are invited to perform their poetry or prose (no more than four minutes!) to be crowned the People’s Choice. Be sure to register your entry in advance, there are prizes to be... Read More

Inspired by the empty, uninhabited megacities of China—Siang Lu (Ghost Cities) joins Kate Mildenhall (The Hummingbird Effect) to talk about his ambitious novel, and filling blank spaces with play, philosophy and in the case of cities, people. Lu will talk about using ghost cities—both real and imagined—to critically examine what’s... Read More

Nean McKenzie (Timefire) shares ways to write your own time slip story. Discuss different kinds of portals, write your own time travel ‘rules’ and start worldbuilding your very own universe. There’ll be plenty of time to free write after workshopping your ideas. Perfect for children aged 8-12. Free, bookings required.... Read More

Local author Donna Rowe and illustrator Rosie Marshall (Rat) first met across their back fence and went from neighbours to creative partners. Join Donna and Rosie for a storytime and treasure hunt within the pages of their picture book Rat. Ask any questions you might have about writing and illustrating... Read More

Author Louise Karch (First Aid for Fairies) and certified Forest Therapy Guide Dr Liz Cyarto will guide you on a rejuvenating walk through Williamstown Botanic Gardens. Come experience the Japanese-inspired health practice of Forest Therapy and gain micro-resilience tips to thrive in challenging times. Don’t miss the magic. Meet at the East entrance to... Read More

Scientist, diver and swimmer Sandy Webb (Jawbone Marine Sanctuary) has spent years fossicking for seaweed and photographing in Jawbone Marine Sanctuary. Today, she takes us on a virtual tour of the natural treasures to be discovered there, the biodiversity to be celebrated on our doorstep, and some of the challenges.... Read More

Join architect Fooi-Ling Khoo (OOF! architecture) and interior designer Lauren Li (Beachside Modern) as they discuss why the grass seems greener on the other side of the median strip. Drawing on their respective design practices they’ll explore our cultural fascination with the inside of other people’s homes, in conversation with... Read More

Stella Prize-celebrated Sanya Rushdi (Hospital) talks to Jacinta Halloran (Resistance) about the slippery space between fiction and non-fiction, writing about and the experience of psychosis and the intimacy of translation.  

Co-written by parents and children of Cherry Crescent Preschool in Braybrook, Crocodile vá Unicorn Đi Chơi is a magical adventure inspired by the kinder’s bilingual community. Step inside its pages with a storytime by author and parent Cecilia Le, followed by a Q&A with language scholar David Nunan. Translanguaging is... Read More

Join Carmel McKenzie, this year’s recipient of the Victorian Premier’s History Prize for St Kilda 1841-1900 Movers and Shakers and Money-makers, in conversation with State Library Victoria curator Carolyn Fraser, as Carmel unpacks both St Kilda’s former opulence and darker aspects of its ‘golden age’—a compelling contrast to nineteenth-century Williamstown.... Read More

Storytelling can take many shapes, and writers Maxine Beneba Clarke (The Hate Race), Elise Esther Hearst (One Day We’re All Going to Die) and Elizabeth Coleman (A Dance with Murder) have worked across an abundance of forms. Learn from multi-hyphenate talents: novelists, short story writers, screenwriters and playwrights as they... Read More

Mr Chicken has arriva’d in Roma, been to London, he’s even landed on Mars. Now he comes to Williamstown for a drawing workshop with children’s laureate Leigh Hobbs (Mr Chicken Goes to Mars). Learn to draw world’s best travelled chicken in this free festival workshop. Free, bookings required.  

SalamaTea’s Hamed Allahyari (Salamati) and Moroccan Soup Bar’s Hana Assafiri (Hana) join Jaclyn Crupi (Pasta Love) to discuss how they’ve used food as a bridge between people and culture, and as a vehicle for social change.  

For both Ernest Price (Pyramid of Needs) and Sam Elkin (Detachable Penis) their transitions and queer coming-of-age have been experiences filled with tenderness, distress, and a whole lot of paperwork. They’ll speak to the conflict of vulnerability with bureaucracy in their journeys to live authentically as the truest versions of... Read More

Join us in commemorating the life and legacy of poet John Shaw Neilson through music. Friends, musicians, and artists will bring his words and verses to life, performing a suite of his poems as songs. There will be complimentary afternoon tea provided by the Altona Laverton Historical Society. Proudly supported... Read More

Manisha Anjali‘s (Naag Mountain) practice plucks poems from the dream world. Susie Anderson’s (the body country) is a meditation of wandering and wondering on Country. Together, they discuss gathering poems and grounding themselves in worlds real and imagined as a way of making sense of our cultural inheritances.  

Australia has the fastest rates of language extinction in the world. Leah Kaminsky (Doll’s  Eye) and artist Dr Vicki Couzens discuss the decline of language diversity, the omnipresence of English as a lingua franca and the effect this has on culture. They will talk about what language conservation looks like, and... Read More

Let a thousand blossoms bloom! Jac Semmler (Superbloom Handbook) joins Jaclyn Crupi (Garden Like a Nonno) in conversation to talk about her flourishing garden Heartland; about experimenting in the garden, and growing things for pleasure.  

Discover your next read from a local writer. Imbi Neeme (Kind Of, Sort of, Maybe), Kate Mildenhall (The Hummingbird Effect), Emily Spurr (Beatrix & Fred) read from their latest novels set in the Western suburbs, followed by an author Q&A with Program Director Emily Westmoreland.  

So you want to be a journalist? Or maybe just share a few local stories of importance? Learn the basics of journalism with RMIT journalism lecturer Josie Vine and editor of The Westsider, Barbara Heggen, to help you get started. Together they’ll provide you with some valuable tips giving you the confidence to start sharing... Read More